Ireland’s Quirky Cannabis Culture is a Trip

The first vape sesh after a six-hour plane ride is a beautiful thing. I inhaled deeply and soaked in the scenery as I waited for the bus to take me into town. I spotted an older American lady nearby firing up her vape and gazing into the Irish clouds. I gave her a nod in sisterly stoner solidarity and grinned to myself. I was officially in “Higherland.”

The double-decker bus arrived, ready to take us all into Dublin. A simple gal from Nebraska, I had never been on a two-story bus so I was visibly excited to sit up so high. There was a big TV screen at the front of the bus and I had a bag full of Irish airport snacks. I sat back, happily high (in more ways than one) and ready to see what Ireland had to show me.

As we entered a tunnel, the friendly commercial on the bus TV screen suddenly turned into a terrifying ad for the “Halloween Bus.” Looking out the windows I could see a thick mist swirling around the green lights of the tunnel while the sounds of screams and cackles emerged from the screen. My first thought was that it was an enjoyable hallucination but my husband (who doesn’t partake in weed or paganism) confirmed that it was an actual commercial and not just my Halloween dreams coming true. Apparently, Ireland loves Halloween as much as MERRY JANE does, so I have no choice but to love Ireland.

After the Halloween bus and a full Irish breakfast with a large Irish coffee, I reminded myself that I had an article about cannabis to write. And just then a sign appeared, as if from a vision. There it was: a giant green marijuana leaf smiling down at me from above a modest store front. I had inadvertently stumbled uponThe Hemp Company, a supplier of seeds, CBD products, vapes, and more.

Inside, there were a couple of dudes hanging out and the store was quiet, since it was 9 a.m. on a Saturday. When asked about cannabis culture in Ireland, they said there wasn’t much of one, but that positive changes were afoot. “People are more open to having a mature conversation about cannabis now,” the shopkeep said while I gazed around like a kid in a CBD store.